It's been a long time since I read a Nero Wolfe, and perhaps absence made the heart grow fonder, or perhaps this is just one of the better ones. It foIt's been a long time since I read a Nero Wolfe, and perhaps absence made the heart grow fonder, or perhaps this is just one of the better ones. It follows the formula to the letter, but has some its spring in its step and delivers what it offers, a diverting piece of pulp detective fiction....more

I know no shortage of people who think the Four Quartets are beautiful and amazing. Well, it may be -- and I say this without cynicism -- that you havI know no shortage of people who think the Four Quartets are beautiful and amazing. Well, it may be -- and I say this without cynicism -- that you have to be taught how to find them beautiful and amazing. Certainly, I've noticed that people bring a lot of external information to them -- I read a portion out loud, and Mrs. said something about how terrible it must have been to live through bombing, which is certainly true, except: the poem hadn't said anything about bombing. Does it count as a poignant response to bombing, if you have to learn from the Wiki that it's a poignant response to bombing? I don't know. Recurringly, too, the poems seem to be largely "about" the way that past and future can only be experienced within the present, which is... not very interesting? I mean, if you are the kind of person who thinks about how you experience time, you notice at some point that the past and future can only be experienced within the present, and then you get used to it as you do to riding a bicycle, and you get on with experiencing the past and future within the present. I'm not sure you need to listen to someone else meditate on the concept for sixty pages.

It is a given that if others find beauty in these poems and I don't, it is my loss. However, as a matter of report, I'll say not only did I find most of the text here dull, much of it I did not find particularly poetic. Despite its reputation of immaculate craftsmanship, long passages read like circuitous prose typeset according to poetic conventions. The bits where metrical rhyming broke out were certainly the most interesting and admirable. This is not surprising, because -- as everyone knows in their heart of hearts -- poetry that has a rhyming scheme is, all other things being equal, inherently more interesting and compelling than poetry that does not.

In sum, obviously I am reading the Four Quartets all wrong and will have to go back and try again when I'm a little older....more

Smart, topical adventure involving four boats that collide, in a sense, off the Spanish Mediterranean coast. There's no single plot line, just a sequeSmart, topical adventure involving four boats that collide, in a sense, off the Spanish Mediterranean coast. There's no single plot line, just a sequence of events seen through the perspectives of a surprisingly broad cast of characters, each of whose life has been shaped by modern history and current events. Well, that applies to everyone, but let's say these lives have been conspicuously shaped by modern history and current events. It's not a literary masterpiece -- closer to the category of "something to read on the plane" -- but it is more interesting and more ambitious than most other work in its class. ...more

I should not want to get in a battle of wits with Marilynne Robinson, as she has more than her fair share. These collected lectures address the limitsI should not want to get in a battle of wits with Marilynne Robinson, as she has more than her fair share. These collected lectures address the limits of scientific and quasi-scientific mindsets in their application outside of the controlled circumstances of the lab, make much-refined versions of the common-sense critique of dodgy single-answer theory (Freudian, Marxist, Behaviorist, Social Darwinist, etc.), and generally make the case that a little introspection is a good corrective for wooden thinking. Like most lecture collections, it reads like a collection of lectures, and would probably be more fun to hear than it is to read....more

Elegantly told story of a unpleasant man whose life of self-inflicted tragedy is interrupted by historical tragedy. Struggles to live up to its colossElegantly told story of a unpleasant man whose life of self-inflicted tragedy is interrupted by historical tragedy. Struggles to live up to its colossal reputation....more

This would have been one trippy book if it was finished. That it isn't finished doesn't make it any less trippy, and indeed you find yourself thinkingThis would have been one trippy book if it was finished. That it isn't finished doesn't make it any less trippy, and indeed you find yourself thinking nonsense like "I wonder if Perec died and left it unfinished on purpose!" You almost wouldn't put it past him. That all being said, it isn't nearly as fun to dig around in the notes for the unfinished bits as I thought it would be.

I wonder if there's such a thing as an enthusiast for unfinished books. Maybe this one would pair well with The Mystery of Edwin Drood....more

A serviceable small-cast British detective novel set near a nuclear power plant shortly after Chernobyl, it suffers throughout from a somewhat fussy dA serviceable small-cast British detective novel set near a nuclear power plant shortly after Chernobyl, it suffers throughout from a somewhat fussy darn-these-modern-times pursing of lips, which naturally looks a bit mawkish 35 years down the pike. More importantly, there is a bizarre chapter at about the 4/5 point which, shall we say, breaks genre conventions, and not in a good way. I found that bit ever so slightly embarrassing to read....more

It seems a little otherworldly to read a book of highly formal, good-quality poetry that was a runaway bestseller appealing most strongly to young menIt seems a little otherworldly to read a book of highly formal, good-quality poetry that was a runaway bestseller appealing most strongly to young men. Worth reading if only for the shock of realizing how much influence it had on twentieth century popular literature. Bracingly morbid, but then Mithridates died old, and by gum A.E. Housman made it to 77 himself....more

Not Mr. Trollope's most captivating work. And, not a good choice to read shortly after He Knew He Was Right, since it shares an identical narrative arNot Mr. Trollope's most captivating work. And, not a good choice to read shortly after He Knew He Was Right, since it shares an identical narrative arc with that book's main plot line. On the other hand, it's a nice short Trollope novel that you can burn through of a rainy day, and there's certainly something to be said for that. ...more

This is the book that taught me how to read books. It provides a comprehensive set of critical tools for the everyday reader, and since its examples aThis is the book that taught me how to read books. It provides a comprehensive set of critical tools for the everyday reader, and since its examples all tend to make you want to read the books they come from, it also gives you an outstanding syllabus of novels to try them out on. It was a brand-new book when I bought it; now it's dated but still rock-solid. It makes me giddy to think that I could have chosen not to buy it; I think the 25 years since would have gone a lot differently. ...more

A collection of short-short stories and character sketches of Europeans in early 20th century China. Many of the portraits are pretty scathing, but thA collection of short-short stories and character sketches of Europeans in early 20th century China. Many of the portraits are pretty scathing, but they are generally pretty humane as well. They range from comic to tragic to, in at least one instance, supernatural, but all are told with Maugham's sardonically polite emotional distance. Easy to read, and worth reading....more

Between the NINE MILLION STARS I could give the good Tintin titles for blowing my little small town mind as a child, making me aware of the existenceBetween the NINE MILLION STARS I could give the good Tintin titles for blowing my little small town mind as a child, making me aware of the existence of Europe and the sophisticated possibilities latent in a comic book, and the snooty two stars I could disdainfully issue now citing dim physical comedy, linear plotting, and a heavy reliance on the comic delights of alcoholism, is a middle point of 4,500,001 stars. But this is one of those situations where an average doesn't tell you much about the data, so I just won't rate the Tintins. This is a good one, and I imagine I've read it at least a dozen times. It doesn't take nearly as much time as it used to....more

I quite enjoyed this installment of the Rebus franchise. The resolution seemed a bit out of the blue, but I bet that's often really the case in policeI quite enjoyed this installment of the Rebus franchise. The resolution seemed a bit out of the blue, but I bet that's often really the case in police detective work....more

Covers a thousand years and a huge geographic tapestry in a surprisingly brisk treatment. Bracingly no-nonsense and occasionally contrarian, but WickhCovers a thousand years and a huge geographic tapestry in a surprisingly brisk treatment. Bracingly no-nonsense and occasionally contrarian, but Wickham plays fair and lets you know when he's submitting a minority report. A lot of the popular stories of the middle ages, defenestrations and royal eccentricities and the like, are conspicuous by their absence, but Wickham is probably correct in thinking that just because something is famous and well documented doesn't necessarily mean it was all that important.

I'm surprised that many GR reviews found it a dull text -- I thought it was pretty zippy by any fair large-canvas standard. I learned a lot. What more could you ask for?...more

I agree with Anthony Trollope that this is one of the less successful books by Anthony Trollope. Where he wanted to portray a character driven mad byI agree with Anthony Trollope that this is one of the less successful books by Anthony Trollope. Where he wanted to portray a character driven mad by pathological sexual jealousy, he ends up giving us a guy who seems to have a fatal case of peevish marital bickering. On the other side of the troubled relationship, where I think Trollope wanted an aggrieved innocent, we get someone so intent on a literal interpretation of social rules, and so bent on having the last word, that it's hard to sympathize too much with her eminently avoidable problems. The several side plots are better realized, but none of them, nor all of them together, is really enough to hang a novel of this size on. Still, second-rate Trollope is pretty good stuff, and there is plenty of urbane wit, keen observation, and knowing authorial asides to made it worth the reading....more

It's an enjoyable detective thriller that develops the Harry Hole character and his supporting cast of colleagues, and that makes interesting and thouIt's an enjoyable detective thriller that develops the Harry Hole character and his supporting cast of colleagues, and that makes interesting and thoughtful forays into twentieth century Norwegian history. It gets almost everything right except its central premise, which, when it is finally revealed, is just plain dumb. Oh well....more